Search - 2022

 
 
A rendering of the next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed and manufactured by Japan, Britain and Italy
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 25, 2024

Concerns raised over strength of Japan's fighter jet export 'brakes'

The closed nature of decision-making has been criticized, while worries persist over the potential use of Japanese equipment.
News of a North Korean missile launch is shown at a the main rail station in Seoul on May 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 25, 2024

State-run think tank makes rare call for Seoul to consider own nukes

While discussions have grown about Seoul deploying or building it own nuclear weapons, it is extremely unusual for a state-run body to broach the issue.
An ingot of a rare earth metal used to make components for technology products at a factory in China. The country is the world’s top exporter of rare earth elements, but that may change if deep-sea mining gains traction in nations like Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2024

We’ve got to get deep-sea mining right

Seabed mining could muddy the waters of critical minerals' supply chains by tapping into new sources. But will environmental and legal concerns sink the project?
A billboard with a picture of the presidential candidates is displayed on a street in Tehran on June 17.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2024

Iran’s presidential election dominated by Khamenei loyalists

The next president will likely be closely involved in the eventual process of choosing a successor to Iran's supreme leader.
German and Japanese fighter jets take part in an exercise over Japan in September 2022.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2024

Japan to hold fighter jet drills with Germany, France, Spain in July

A contingent of more than 30 military aircraft from Germany, France and Spain will arrive in Japan next month to conduct a series of training exercises with the ASDF.
France forward Kylian Mbappe fights for the ball with Polish midfielder Pawel Dawidowicz (right) during a group stage match on Tuesday in Dortmund, Germany.
SOCCER
Jun 26, 2024

Mbappe's return fails to mask France shortcomings at Euro 2024

The French are through to the last 16 after emerging unbeaten from the first round, but a draw with Poland meant they finished second in Group D behind Austria.
A volunteer hoping to join the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attends basic training at an undisclosed location in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Jan. 9.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2024

Trump reviews peace talks ultimatum plan for Ukraine and Russia

The proposal would mark a big shift in the U.S. position on the war and would face opposition from European allies.
Workers assemble second-generation R1 vehicles at electric carmaker Rivian's manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2024

Volkswagen's $5 billion investment in Rivian boosts EV maker's shares

The investment will provide Rivian the funding necessary to develop its less expensive and smaller R2 SUVs, and help it turn cash-flow positive.
Then-Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (right) and Army Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov vote in Russia's presidential election in March.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2024

ICC issues arrest warrants for Russia army chief and ex-defense minister

The warrants are the latest in a series of actions by the court over the Ukraine war, including an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II by the Kremlin wall in Moscow on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2024

U.S. and Russia defense chiefs speak as tensions rise over Crimea attack

Russia's Defense Ministry said that Andrei Belousov warned Lloyd Austin of the dangers of continued U.S. arms supplies to Ukraine.
This screen grab taken from video posted on the WikiLeaks X account on Tuesday shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looking out the window of a private jet as he flies from London to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands after reaching a plea deal with the U.S. authorities.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 26, 2024

Assange walks free, but plea deal sets a chilling precedent

The Committee to Protect Journalists says the prosecution had grave implications for journalists and press freedom worldwide.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about student debt in Madison, Wisconsin, in April.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2024

How Trump and Biden might attack each other at their first 2024 debate

Immigration, the economy, democracy and abortion rights: Here are the main ways each candidate is likely to slam the other at Thursday’s high-stakes confrontation.
A salvage crew in front of the wreckage of a Japan Airlines jet that collided with a Japan Coast Guard plane at Haneda Airport in January
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024

Japan Airlines pilots and crew voice concerns amid recent safety woes

Employees who would have normally given informal training to new recruits left during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey stationed at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo in May
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024

10 SDF and U.S. Ospreys to take part in drills in Japan after accident

Around eight Marine Corps and two GSDF Ospreys are scheduled to take part in the Resolute Dragon 24 exercise.
Akira Otani's "The Night of Baba Yaga” explores the boundaries of finding one's place in society as it questions ideas of violence, love, family and honor.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 27, 2024

‘The Night of Baba Yaga’ weaves a yakuza thriller into a meditation on queerness

Translator Sam Bett gravitated to the Akira Otani novel for its refusal to adhere to established genre conventions.
Reactors Nos. 3 and 4 of the Oi nuclear power plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024

Japan's nuclear watchdog OKs extension of Kansai Electric's Oi plant

It is the first time for the nuclear regulator to approve a long-term facility management plan based on the green transformation law.
Monitors show the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on Monday. Traders are falling out of step with the Bank of Japan, expecting hawkish steps that are instead met with a cautious approach.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

Traders are out of step with the BOJ’s Ueda

Time and time again, traders predict that the Bank of Japan will take bold next steps, but these rarely come. That's because Gov. Ueda is, most of all, cautious.
At the New England Organ Bank in Massachusetts. A U.S. sex offender donated an organ in 2022 to help a sick child and redeem himself.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2024

Giving organs can save donors’ lives, too

A U.S. sex offender donated an organ to save a sick child, showing others like him that a path to redemption exists — and multiplying the good of his action.
Georgia forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates his team's second goal during its group-stage win over Portugal on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Jun 27, 2024

Georgia makes history by reaching Euro 2024 knockouts

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's finish with less than two minutes on the clock clinched Georgia's greatest soccer victory.
Of the 384 people who died from all mpox strains in Congo this year, more than 60% were children, the World Health Organization has said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 27, 2024

Fears emerge over new 'most dangerous' mpox strain crossing borders

The new deadlier strain transmits more easily between people — including through nonsexual contact — and is killing children and causing miscarriages in Congo.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa (center) and his lawyers head to the Tokyo District Court on Thursday to file the lawsuit against the state.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2024

Ex-Kadokawa chairman files lawsuit over 'hostage justice' system

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 80, is seeking ¥220 million in damages in the civil lawsuit after he was detained for 226 days before being released in April 2023.
Bronny James, seen during the draft combine on May 15, was selected by the Lakers in the second round of the NBA draft on Thursday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 28, 2024

Lakers draft Bronny James to play alongside LeBron in historic father-son duo

The selection creates the first father-son duo in NBA history.
Yuta Orisaka strips things back on his latest album, “Jumon,” though it still features a few explosive moments.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2024

Yuta Orisaka's folk style is far more than a throwback

The singer-songwriter wanted to make songs his grandmother could enjoy, but that doesn't mean he'll skimp on the electronic touches.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of 2024 at CNN's studios in Atlanta on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 28, 2024

At first debate, Biden stumbles amid Trump's barrage of falsehoods

The two men traded barbs on a host of issues as they each sought to shake up what opinion polls show has been a virtually tied race for months.
To be the best of the best, according to the exclusive Relais & Chateaux group, Japan's 'ryokan' inns need to leave guests with "a transcendental feeling."
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2024

To Relais & Chateaux, not all ‘ryokan’ inns are created equal

In Japan, this exclusive association has partnered with just 13 hotels and traditional 'ryokan' inns and seven stand-alone restaurants spread across the country.
Ryosuke Kunisawa hopes his "concept brewpub" serves as a focal point to an image change for the salaryman epicenter that is the Shimbashi neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2024

Craft beer, craftsmanship and a family of reinvention

On the first two floors of his family’s slender eight-story building, Kunisawa launched the Kunisawa Brewing Company, Shimbashi's first beer brewery, in May 2022.
Tsuyoshi Maruki, president of Strategic Capital, speaks online on Thursday after three of six candidates proposed by the firm for Daidoh's board positions secured a seat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

Activist fund in Japan wins Daidoh board seats in rare victory

Daidoh's stock has more than tripled since activist fund Strategic Capital built a stake in the firm in November 2022.
French center Victor Wembanyama said France must avoid extremes in its upcoming parliamentary elections.
BASKETBALL
Jun 28, 2024

Victor Wembanyama urges French voters to reject 'extremes' in parliamentary election

Basketball star Victor Wembanyama joined other leading French athletes on Thursday in warning against voting for the "extremes" in this weekend's parliamentary election.
Tadej Pogacar rides during a training session ahead of the Tour de France in Florence, Italy, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Cycling
Jun 28, 2024

'Unbeatable' Pogacar eyes rare Tour-Giro double despite bout with COVID-19

"The Giro-Tour double is difficult to achieve," the Team UAE rider said Thursday. "It's a big challenge, but I'm ready to take it on."
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2024 Liveability Index gave Tokyo perfect scores for stability and health care.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 28, 2024

Osaka and Tokyo ranked as world’s ninth and 14th most livable cities

The Economist Intelligence Unit scores cities on the basis of education, stability, health care, culture, and the environment and infrastructure.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?